Accessibility & Best Practice
Site name is committed to ensuring that this website is accessible to everyone. If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the accessibility of this site, please contact us.
For general help in making this site and others easier to use, see the BBC's My Web My Way and AbilityNet's My Computer, My Way!
Shortcuts to accessibility tips
- Changing text size
- Access keys
- Using the tab key
- Links
- Contrast
- Accessibility barriers
- Standards compliance
Changing text size
Most browsers feature the ability to resize text on screen to a level you feel comfortable with.
This tool is available in the menu of various browsers as follows:
| Browser | Instructions |
|---|---|
| Internet Explorer 7 (PC) | Page > Zoom |
| Internet Explorer 5, 5.5, 6 (PC) | View > Text Size |
| Firefox, Netscape 8 | View > Text Size |
| Opera | View > Zoom |
| Netscape 6, 7, Mozilla | View > Text Zoom |
| Safari (Mac) | View > Make Text Bigger |
Alternatively, if you are using a modern browser and have a mouse with a wheel you can also alter the size of the text size by holding down ctrl (PC) or command (Mac) on your keyboard while scrolling up and down with the mouse wheel.
Access keys
The access key function allows lets you surf around a site without using your mouse to click on links.
Using your keyboard, it's possible to jump directly to certain links or certain areas within a page, without having to move your mouse at all.
By holding down alt+[access key] (PC), ctrl+[access key] (Mac) or alt+shift+[access key] (Firefox 2, both Mac and PC), a link becomes highlighted. You can then hit the enter key to activate the link.
| Function | Access key |
|---|---|
| Skip to content | 1 |
| Skip to main navigation | 2 |
| Skip to site map | 3 |
| Contact us | 4 |
| Accessibility statement (this page) | 0 |
Using the tab key
You can use the Tab key on your keyboard to move between links on a page. A single press of Tab highlights the next link, Shift+Tab highlights the previous link.
When you use use the Tab key to move between links on the the Site name website, you'll be taken through them in the following order:
- Main content area of the page
- Right column
- Left column
All forms on the Site name website have a logical tab sequence.
Links
If a link opens in a new window, this will be indicated by a pop-up title text.
Links to files (for example PDF files and Microsoft Word documents) always open in a new window.
Every effort has been made to ensure that link names are distinct and not repeated on a page.
Contrast
We have made every effort to ensure that we have used sufficient contrast on the Site name website but if you notice any colour combinations that cause you problems, please contact us.
Accessibility barriers
This section should be completed after the final testing of the site is complete: list any problems visitors might experience and suggest ways that these problems might be resolved.
Standards compliance
- Our pages conform at a minimum to Level AA compliance as specified by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and endorsed by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB). The majority of AAA requirements are also met.
- All pages validate as XHTML 1.0 Strict and use structured, semantic markup.
- Our site requires a number of different CSS techniques for cross browser compatibility which can cause validator problems. However, we have ensured that all techniques we use are not detrimental to site accessibility.
- We strive to obey the spirit of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 with respect to the provision of services online, as required by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC).
Last updated: May 2008